With the majority of domestic football finished for the 2021/22 season in Europe, many people are starting to look toward international matches. In Spain, however, the promotion playoffs for La Liga have only just kicked off in the Segunda Division. As with many of the playoffs, there is so much to gain for every team that is involved.
This data analysis will explore the structure of the playoffs before diving into a tactical overview of the teams in the promotion fight, providing a briefing of each team using data and statistics from the 2021/22 season.
Structure of the playoffs
The latest format of the Segunda División was adopted first in the 2010/11 season and is still used for the current season. This format is very similar to the English football leagues, like the EFL Championship, with the teams competing being the highest four league positions after the automatic promotion positions (in first and second). Usually, this means teams in third to sixth will compete, but if there are any reserve teams in the qualification positions it is transferred to the next best team since these reserve teams can not get promoted.
The matches start with two two-legged semi-final matches. These are with third place facing off against sixth place and fourth place facing fifth place. The lowest place team will always be home for the first leg with the second leg taking place at the opponents home stadium. Therefore the semi-finals for this season are Girona vs Eibar and Tenerife vs Las Palmas.
Since the new format, a new rule was established removing the penalty shoot-out from the semi-finals. This only takes place after specific circumstances but it gives an advantage to higher final league positions. The semi-final matches do have the away goal rule as well over the two legs, even up to the extra time of the second leg. Therefore in the case that the score is equal on aggregate over the two legs and remains even after the extra time, then the highest placed team will go through.
